There was green, green everywhere Saturday in Cruz Bay as St. John celebrated St. Patrick’s Day in its own inimitable style. The annual parade from the roundabout past the Quiet Mon Pub to the intersection with Veste Gade, as usual, took all of 15 minutes.
“It’s the world’s record smallest St. Patrick’s Day parade. We read about it,” said visitor Mark French of Albany, N.Y. as he gathered with fellow vacationers to watch the parade.
It just might be the world’s smallest parade but that didn’t stop several hundred visitors and residents from enjoying the fun. Many came decked in green with green t-shirts, shamrock-bedecked top hats, and shamrock-shaped glasses everywhere.
Sharilyn Anderson of Bonney Lake, Wash. had on a pair of those shamrock glasses, but for her it was more like Valentine’s Day. She and her husband, Larry Anderson, were married 50 years ago on St. Patrick’s Day and the two were lovey-dovey as they waited for the parade.
“We went to Honeymoon yesterday,” she said, enjoying the play on words as she talked about one of St. John’s beaches.
At the other end of the marriage spectrum, Marolyn Kellner and Bob Vannoy of Greenville, S.C., were celebrating five months of marriage. Wearing shamrock top hats, the two came to take in the sights.
“We love the parade,” Kellner said.
Dr. Joseph De James, one of the physicians at Myrah Keating Smith Community Health Center, was wearing the green too, and like many parade goers, had a beer in his hand.
“It’s a urine specimen,” he joked, adding that he wasn’t on call, so he was free to enjoy all the festivities.
The Quiet Mon Pub, which organized the parade, had several groups of people marching and making their way down the parade route in trucks decked out in green. People in one truck passed out green beads and cooler cups.
The parade also featured the Love City Hoopsters, a group of St. John residents who twirled hoops as they made their way along the two-block long route.
Except for the “donation” dog, who wore red, even the dogs from the Animal Care Center of St. John wore green. And the parade goers were generously stuffing green dollar bills into a pocket on the donation dog’s attire to help fund the non-profit agency’s activities.
